A REAL HONOR – Frank Polera, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, was the recipient of the Stanley Kopicnski Award for 2013 given by the Marine Corps League of Bayonne. Commandant Louis Giovanni (right) presents Polera with the plaque honoring him for his service to veterans and the community.

Marcella West, who grew up in Bayonne and raised her family in Jersey City, passed away on May 29 in Newark at the age of 87,.NJ.com reported last week. She died of natural causes.

The site noted, “At the height of the civil rights movement, Marcella West attended the famous March on Washington in 1962, and later in life was an academic counselor at Montclair State College (now University), where she was a member of the faculty for 25 years. She was a founding member of Inner City Broadcasting Corp., owners of several radio stations, and hosted a Sunday morning talk show for a year.”

She was also a member of the local NAACP and a Democratic committeewoman. She was an aide to Cornelius E. Gallagher, a congressman who represented Jersey City and Bayonne.

At the height of the civil rights movement, Marcella West attended the famous March on Washington in 1962, and later in life was an academic counselor at Montclair State College (now University), where she was a member of the faculty for 25 years.

She was a founding member of Inner City Broadcasting Corp., owners of several radio stations, and hosted a Sunday morning talk show for a year.

Hudson County CASA seeks volunteers to help kids

Are you interested in helping children in the foster care system? If so, Hudson County CASA (court appointed special advocates) is currently recruiting volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children. CASA works through trained community volunteers to insure that needed services and assistance are made available to children while helping to move them toward safe and permanent homes.

CASA and its volunteers speak for children in court, serve as fact finders for the judges and safeguard the interests of the children while they are in the foster care system.

Information sessions are held monthly in Room 400 of the Hudson County Administration Building, 595 Newark Ave., Jersey City.

Hudson County has nearly 700 children in foster care; most have been removed from their homes for abuse or neglect. For further information, please call (201) 795-9855, e-mail mgarcia@hudsoncountycasa.org or visit www.hudsoncountycasa.org.

Assembly panel approves bill to finance storm-resistant homes

Legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrats Ruben J. Ramos, Jr., Grace L. Spencer, and Timothy J. Eustace to assist homeowners in building stronger, smarter, more storm-resistant homes was released by an assembly panel on Monday. "Sandy was a wakeup call for many residents, underscoring the fact that climate change, development, and other factors have rendered the current construction and layout of many homes impractical," said Ramos (D-Hudson). "This bill would help provide public financing for homeowners to renovate or build structures that are far more flood- and hurricane- resistant."

Currently, a municipality may undertake the financing of the purchase and installation of renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements made by property owners, upon application to and approval by the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs. By ordinance, the municipality may provide for a "clean energy special assessment" to be imposed on those properties when the property owner has requested the assessment in exchange for receiving assistance with the initial financing.

Other legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrats Peter J. Barnes III, Ramos, Ralph Caputo, Gordon Johnson, John Wisniewski, Valerie Vainieri Huttle, and John Burzichelli authorizes the Supreme Court to increase or add new court filing fees to help fund the modernization of the state's court information system, as well as the work of Legal Services of New Jersey, a nonprofit that provides free legal assistance in civil matters to individuals living below the poverty line, was released Monday by the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Payne commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act

“[June 12] marks the 50th Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, landmark legislation signed into law by President John F. Kennedy to end gender discrimination in the workplace and provide women with equal pay for equal work,” Rep. Donald Payne Jr. said recently. “Not only was this a great stride in the advancement of civil rights, but it was also meant to improve the quality of life for working women, mothers, and their families. Although we have made progress in closing the gender wage gap, women still typically earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns for the same work. In New Jersey, the gap is staggering with women earning on average $13,413 less per year, and the difference is even greater for women of color who on average earn just 64 cents on the dollar as [compared to] their male counterparts. This gross gender pay disparity has a devastating effect not just on women, but also on their families and our local economies as the current wage disparity could pay for 107 weeks of groceries, 3,600 gallons of gas, or more than a year’s rent.”